Egg-ope-ner



(No Model.)

w. R. HARTQIGAN.

EGG OPENER.

Patented Ja.'11.4, 1887.

N. PUERS. Phqlo'lillwgnphir. Wilhingim )1 G UNITED TATES PATENT Fries.

IVILLIAM R. H-ARTIGAN, OF BURLINGTON, CONNECTICUT.

EGG=OPENER.

. $PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,316, dated January 4, 1887..

Application filed time 30, 1886. Serial No. 206,679. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. HARTI- GAN, of Burlington, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Egg- Openers, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, where- Figure l is what may be called a flatwise View of an egg-opener embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the interior of thejoint.

This improvement, as its title indicates, relates to an eggopener, and is designed to provide a device adapted to cut and remove from an egg any portion of its shell. The egg can meanwhile be held in any'suitable cup or support, or it can be held inia'persons hand. A patent has already been granted for 2.) a device intended for the same general pur-' pose-to wit, the patent to Daniel H. Murphy, No.2l2,394., dated February 18,187 9of which said patenutogethcr with the exclusive rights and privileges granted thereby, I am the sole 2 5 owner. 'While the device described and claimed in said Letters Patent is of utility, it has at the same time certain defects in operation which are cured in the device forming the subj ect-matter of these present Letters Patent.

In the accompanying drawings, the letters a denote parti-circular jaws, hinged or pivoted together and provided with the handles 1). The nature of thejoint or pivot by which the jaws a are connected is illustrated in Fig. 2,

5 which jaws are provided with a cup, 0, at the joint, the open faces of which fit together. Inside the cup, and around the pivot-pin d, is coiled the wire spring 6, the ends of which bear against the lugs f, which are inside the 40 cups. This spring, in the relation already described, tends to keep the jaws a apart or open to the desired extent, so that in using the device the user has simply to press the handles together, and they open again when released 5 from the action of the spring.

The distinct and peculiar feature of the present improvement is a kind of teeth made use of, which are set projecting from the inner sides of the parti-circular jaws. These teeth t are spine-teeth, by which is meant slim sharp spines separated from each other at the base and throughout-by a definite interval, and of a length atleastdouble the diameter of the base.

In using this device the egg is encircled at any desired point by the parti-circular jaws, and then by pressing the handles together the spines are caused to enter, penetrate, and perforate the egg-shelhso that the egg-shell comes apartat this line of perforations with a clean and clear division. In the said former patent of'Murphy the parts corresponding to the present parti-circular jaws were described as formed with either a plain or a serrated working-jaw, and in the drawings the jaw was shown serrated, being provided with teeth resembling in general the teeth of a saw. As already pointed out hereinbefore, while this device of the said former patent has utility, there was a serious defect in its working as compared with the working of the present improvement. That defect was a crushing of the egg-shell along the line of separation into a great variety of fragments-a difficulty en-' tirely' avoided and cured by the use of the spine-teeth described herein. An egg-shell is so peculiar and so brittle in its nature that it cannot be separated along a given line cleanly and nicely by any and every kind of cuttingedge. The use of the peculiar spine-teeth herein shown and described effects the desired end perfectly.

I have shown and described this device as distinct and by itself. It is obvious that it may be combined with a cup or cups.

I claim as my improvement- The parti-circular jaws provided with spineteeth, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM R. HARTIGAN. Witnesses:

WM. E. SIMoNns, A. B. JENKINS. 

